The most exciting thing to happen to my village since I’ve moved here is happening! The dirt soi (side street) that connects the area with the secondary school and Sub-District Administration Office (SAO or aw baw dtaw) and the village with the primary school is being paved.
I like this development because this is the route that I take to commute everyday. I like riding past the secondary school students after school and providing them with as much amusement as they provide me. A couple weeks ago, I rode past and a student said as I rode past, “Hello! Welcome to THAILAND!” shouting the final word with such gusto I couldn’t help but feel welcomed. I make plans to one day stop, when I’m not so tired, to watch them play soccer and maybe join them.
I also like taking this route because navigating the main road, even on a bike, is an adventure because of the potholes that crater the road. The main road is under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, which means that I will probably not be in Thailand long enough to see it repaired. The stretch that is being paved is administered by the aw baw dtaw.
The best reason to take this route though, is because I can avoid being chased by dogs. Just after the turn off to go this way, if I’m coming from my house, there is a house that has a pack of dogs. Dogs are treated very differently in Thailand. They are strictly outside animals and as a result are very territorial. As a result, one of the most common injuries to Peace Corps Thailand volunteers is dog bites. There’s a reason we got a round of rabies shots when we arrived here.
Regardless, the paving of this soi reminded me once again of the differences between Thailand and America. First, the stretch of road is maybe half a mile long. It has taken over two weeks for them to get three-quarters of the way done. Work is slow going here in Thailand.
Another thing is that I when roads are paved in the States, they usually will pave one side first and then the other, allowing the road to stay open and people to use the side that is not being worked on. Not how it works in Thailand. They work on both sides at the same time. Also, in this case, they got to a certain point and then went to the other end and started working back. They also skipped over some sections, for reasons I can’t discern.
The gates blocking off the road were sometimes not used in lieu of jut putting a bunch of downed branches in the way.
It’s stuff like this that just makes me say, “Oh, Thailand.” Hopefully the road will be done within the next week. I’m certain it will be done before school starts after the semester break.
